A Light Within Darkness 37
Jack wasn't unconscious long, maybe a hand full of minutes at best. But those few minutes felt like a life time as memories of his death raced through his mind mixed with the deaths of countless ice elves by his hand in the exact same manner. He whimpered in his sleep and began to toss and turn as his mind screamed at him that what he did was wrong, that there must have been a better way, that he was a murderer. His hands bunched, fisting in fur and he barely heard Bunny's grunt as he sobbed softly, only half conscious of the world around him. He awoke when he felt small hands pry his hands free of fur and his body shifted until he was held bridle style in Bunny's arms. But even then it didn't seem real. Everything seemed like a blurred dream as they passed from the Snow Queen's frigidly cold realm – a cold that went far beyond what the Antarctic normally felt like – into warmth. But it felt far warmer than it should have. That mixed with Bunny's natural body temperature made Jack feel ill but he refused to let go of the Pooka. He pressed his face into the Easter spirit's scruff and cuddled into him, wanting to sleep but not think. He wanted to forget everything that had just happened, especially the death of all those elves. He never meant to kill them, he never meant for them to drown. Yet as much as he kept telling himself that he knew it wasn't true. He wanted them to suffer. He wanted each and every one of them dead and for that he felt incredibly guilty.
He gave a start when he was lowered to one of the infirmary's cots and his eyes flew open in momentary fear. He shot up, his hands instantly reaching out for Bunny and once more clinging to him as if he didn't hold on to the Pooka then he might wake up to discover that he was still trapped in the ice palace with the evil queen and her soldier about to rape him.
"No!" he cried, arms around the surprised Pooka and holding tightly. He couldn't help his tears and did his best to hide them as he pressed his face into Bunny's chest.
"Shh…" Bunny whispered, wrapping his arms around the youth. "It's okay. We're safe now. You're safe. Everything's okay now." He pressed his cheek against Jack's head and rubbed his back in soothing circles until Jack relaxed in his arms.
"My dad?" Jack finally asked when he finally came back to his senses. "Where's dad?" He looked past Bunny to a curtained off cot where he could just barely make out North's form and that of two yetis and Sandy hovering at the head of the bed, obviously keeping Pitch unconscious while the others works. He could hear North and the yetis murmur to each other and it didn't sound good. "Is he okay? Are they helping him?"
"Yes, Jack," Tooth said, fluttering at Bunny's side but there was fear on her face and Jack instinctively felt the darkness that hid in every corner of the vast room responding to all their fear and the crisis happening to their master.
Jack inhaled as he glanced around, seeing the Fearlings peeking out of the shadows in wonder and wasn't sure whether or not to alert the Guardians. Instead he chose to ignore them, knowing that with the natural light coming in from outside and the open skylight that they wouldn't try anything. Detangling himself from Bunny he hobbled over toward the curtained off cot, his legs feeling week and exhaustion making him weak. He stumbled, nearly tripping and it felt as if he was walking miles instead of the dozen or so feet that separated the two cots. He managed to round the curtain and catch himself against a rail. What he saw made him feel faint.
Pitch was stripped down to only his trousers and his usually greyish-cream skin was nearly as white as Jack's. His wrists, chest, hips and legs were all strapped down while yetis held down his shoulders and ankles. He was unconscious and blissfully unaware of what was happening to him as North stuck his large hand into the smaller man's stomach, his fist curling around the broken blade inside Pitch. He paused when he saw Jack staring at what he was doing with wide eyes and his face whiter than ever seen before.
"Aster, get him out of here," he snapped, not wanting Jack to witness what he had to do in an attempt to save Pitch's life.
When Bunny grabbed Jack the boy began to panic and thrash, wanting to stay with his father until Sandy finally turned around and dusted him with a heavy dose of dreamsand that was sure to keep the child out for several hours.
"Take him to a guest room and don't leave him," North instructed, his face flushed with worry for not only the child but the man who he was trying to save. He gave Bunny a significant look, one that spoke far more than words ever could. He was terrified that they would be unable to save Pitch. That the man would die the moment the sword was removed. And whether or not Bunny truly liked the shade they did hold a long and very personal history. Their families would always be mingled together even in death.
Bunny gave a nod as he once again scooped the child up. "Do everything you can, Nick. I'll take care of the ankle-bitter."
. . .
The palace was destroyed, her army scattered but the Snow Queen wasn't angry. She could care less as she stepped into her hidden laboratory. There were many things she had learned from hiding amongst the humans the most important was how closely modern science and alchemy were. With a little tinkering any spell or experiment could bring about the desired results. It was like any other magic and all relied on a firm belief that it would succeed, any doubt would destroy it. In this case she believed with every fiber of her being that her alchemist would succeed where many humans had failed.
She purred softly as she strolled into the lab. "I assume the battle has not caused any delays, gentlemen?" Her grey eyes roamed over the ice capsules. She frowned when she frown all but one destroyed. "What is this? I specifically expressed the need for every sample to be protected with your very lives and all you managed to save is one? Jack Frost is the most powerful elemental ever created and you wasted his bio samples?" She shot out a shockwave of ice and cold sending the alchemists running for cover. She glared at each of them before grabbing the nearest one and slamming her into the wall. "I want each of you working day and night on the last specimen. If it dies so will each one of you and it will not be a pleasant death." She slammed the smaller woman into the wall once more, grinning madly when there was a crack and blood spilled down the side of the woman's head. "Remember that. I will not stand for failure."
. . .
Taking deep breathes North tried to calm his racing heart and keep his hand from shaking as he grasped the ice blade buried in Pitch's stomach. When he first tried removing it before Jack had woken up it had broken nearly in half and now he had to dig out the remains without causing more damage. At first he had thought that perhaps he could remove it by carefully pushing the tip of the blade protruding from Pitch back through but the moment he touched it, it shattered as if it was not meant to be removed. Now there was a good four inches still trapped inside the shade and North was sure exactly how to remove it with wrapping his hand around every inch of the remaining blade. Now he had all of it but was hesitant to move. Pitch was losing a lot of blood and if he moved the wrong way there might be no stopping it.
"Alright, on three?" he said, glancing at the medic. The small yeti nodded and held two folded towels at the ready. Three were already under Pitch, starching the blood flow there. "один…два…три." He pulled his hand and deposited the ice blade on the swiveling tool table when it evaporated into mist.
The yeti moved to press the towels to the wound but before he could Pitch arched his back in his comatose state and screamed in agony. He immediately pressed the towels down on his belly as Phil wrestled the unconscious shade back on the cot. Pitch couldn't get too far in his condition or with all the straps holding him down but the head of North's security was not about to take any chances.
Sandy lowered himself until he was able to touch Pitch's sweat covered head. He placed a hand on his rival's forehead, sending him calming dreams but they did no good. The pain overrode the dreamsand and Pitch's pain filled eyes opened to stare blankly out the skylight at the Moon barely visible in the sunlight.
"Pitch?" North asked, taking over putting pressure on the smaller man's bleeding stomach. He got no answer. "Kozmotis? Can you hear me?"
Usually bright amber eyes faded to a dull grey and then they closed and Pitch moved no more. All around them Fearlings howled in outrage and a crushing pressure filled the infirmary.
"No! No!" North snarled, pressing down a little harder on the shade's belly before gesturing for the medic to take over while he raced to think of ways to bring the Nightmare King back. "Kozmotis!" he yelled as he pressed his hands to the man's chest, ready to begin compressions and praying they wouldn't increase the blood flow. His hands were shaking far more now than when he had them inside Pitch. He couldn't get them under control. At this rate he might very well break Pitch's ribs if he tried giving Pitch compressions. Sandy seemed in complete agreement. He shook his head frantically, thinking such an action might be the wrong way to go. So North gestured for Phil to move out of his way and instead tilted Pitch's head back, listening first for a the shade to take a breath before lowering his head to start mouth-to-mouth. His mouth was less than an inch from Pitch when he felt a warm puff of air against his face.
"Kiss me and I'll kill you," Pitch grumbled, glaring up at him.